I think it may be a German-American thing. The pan sounds more like an Aebleskiver pan than anything else. I will try to ask one of my actual German neighbors this week. Without a New Jersey accent, no worries.

I have zero expertise on this, but by googling I found a "Digital Salt Meter with Thermometer", which per one website could be used to test salt content of food. It seems to retail for about 25 bucks. I would imagine you would need to do more research to see if it would meet your needs.

Oh, so little do you know my young friends. I am living in Germany, and for your amazement I present the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin festival! Not only pumpkin wine, pumpkin beer, and every possible pumpkin-based version of food, but a gigantic T-Rex made of pumpkins. They race the pumpkins on the river! Pumpkin popcorn, pumpkin burgers, pumpkin strudel... This is the most awesome, over the top, most probably obsessive-compulsive event I have ever had the chance to witness.

Can I like your comment? If cutting up their food in advance makes someone I am dining with happy and able to enjoy their meal more, then why on earth would it bother me? I cannot imagine staring at someone else's plate enough to even notice.